Alex Lees Aims for Durham to Compete Across All Cricket Formats in 2025

The newly appointed Durham captain, Alex Lees, has expressed his ambition for the team to contend across all three cricket competitions in the 2025 season. Lees previously scored 924 runs with an average of 46.20 in Division One during 2024. Lees has taken over from Scott Borthwick as the red-ball captain, expanding his existing white-ball duties. Last season, Durham finished fifth in Division One, marking their initial year back at that tier since 2016. The team also advanced to the T20 Blast quarter-finals, a feat not achieved since 2018. Speaking to BBC Radio Newcastle, Lees stated, “Our realistic expectation of ourselves is to challenge.” He further elaborated on the team’s aspirations, saying, “We want to challenge in all formats and be in with a legitimate chance of winning stuff.” Lees, who holds 10 England caps, has been a significant run-scorer for Durham, particularly over the past two seasons where he has accumulated nine centuries. He is now tasked with leading the north-east county’s efforts to expand upon the strong groundwork established since their promotion. “Usually the sides that come up are earmarked to get relegated. That wasn’t the case with Durham,” he commented. Lees added, “We came up with high expectations. If we’re being honest, we were pretty content finishing fifth in our first season up.” However, he also reflected, “But if we look back, we’re actually quite disappointed in where we did finish in the end.” Durham concluded the season 60 points adrift of champions Surrey. For the upcoming season, the team has recruited batters Emilio Gay and Will Rhodes. The prominent South Africa batter David Bedingham remains with the squad, alongside numerous local talents aspiring to emulate Mark Wood, Brydon Carse, and Matthew Potts by earning a place in the England team. Under the guidance of Australian head coach Ryan Campbell, Durham is known for adopting a “Bazball-like” playing style in county cricket, a factor that makes Lees eager to commence his new role. Lees stated, “We’ve put together a squad over the last few years that is quite experienced with some good young talent.” He further highlighted, “We have loads of north-east bowlers and a good north-east batter in Ben McKinney, who is coming up through the ranks.” Emphasizing the team’s composition, he added, “That core – a few signings from elsewhere and the core from the north-east – is really important.”